How to Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

Bake bacon ends and pieces at 375 for about 18 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from pan and drain on paper towel lined plate. Once cool, remove any visible fat and chop the meaty part of the bacon into small pieces. Set aside.

In the pan you cooked the bacon in, bake the chicken breasts until done -- about 1 hour. Remove to a plate and cool in refrigerator about 15 minutes. Chop into bite sized pieces and set aside.

While the chicken is baking, cook the shell macaroni until tender. Put the frozen peas in the colander, and pour the cooked pasta and water into the colander. Rinse with cold running water until pasta is cool. Drain well.

While the pasta is cooking, cube the cheese. This is a rough estimate of the amount of cheese I used. You could also use shredded cheese.

Dump the drain pasta and peas into a large bowl. Stir in the mayo and ranch dressing. Add in the bacon, chicken and cheese and stir. Chill about an hour in the refrigerator and then enjoy!